Why is IP insurance becoming so popular in the UK at this moment in time? I think there are three main reasons:
- We live in an entrepreneurial age where every year in the UK over 500,000 new companies are incorporated. Each of these will have a name, many will be designing and manufacturing products and many will be offering a service. Each one is therefore creating new IP in the form of patents, trade marks, trade secrets and designs etc. The inevitable consequence of this huge amount of new IP being created is that companies will bump up against each other, whether intentionally or otherwise and infringe on each others IP. Many more small businesses have run into IP issues as a result and are therefore more aware of the potential risks of litigation.
- In this modern economy company’s are much more aware of the value of their IP. Most businesses today do not have physical assets (stock, buildings etc) and the value lies in their technology, brand, customer lists and trade secrets etc. Given these are often the most valuable assets in the business prudent business owners are taking steps to mitigate the risk around them, such as putting IP insurance in place. So whilst in the ‘olden days’ physical assets were routinely insured against harm, now its company’s intangible assets that are protected.
- Perhaps the most obvious reason is that IP insurance has never been easier to put in place and has never been cheaper. As the number of companies purchasing IP insurance grows, so the insurers are able to spread their risk across a bigger book of business and hence reduce the level of premiums. Entry level policies for UK trade mark owners is now a few hundred pounds per annum and it only takes a matter of hours to get cover in place. In fact the proposal form only takes a minute or two to complete. It can be found here
If your company has done all the right things and captured, protected and exploited its IP but you are concerned that it does not have the funds to protect this value, then please get in touch today. IP insurance is a fantastic, comparatively cheap way to mitigate this significant business risk and will allow to grow your business without the fear a competitor ripping you off or being sued for inadvertently infringing a third party’s rights.
To obtain a free quote please complete the short form here or give me, David, a call and we can talk through your options.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of IP insurance please have a read of the articles here and here and to learn about how the policies operate please read the article here
